On one occasion, I was checking and bagging a customer’s rather large order — complete with a frozen ham, plenty of side dishes, and six bottles of wine — while pretending to listen to whatever the customer was rambling on about. When finished, I promptly told him his total and struggled to find enough sincerity to ask if he “would like any help out.” As he took the receipt and began to walk away, I offered, “Have a good day.” He stopped, gave me a patient aren’t-you-forgetting-something smile, and waited. I stared right back with a blank expression until it clicked in my mind what I was supposed to say.
“Oh, right. Happy Holidays,” I said with a flat tone.
“You have a Merry Christmas, Sarah,” he said back with a wink and a smile that was much too friendly. Disgusting. If I had wanted to get hit on by some guy at the grocery store while silently being criticized for not offering a Merry Christmas, I wouldn’t have felt the urge to gouge my eyes out and vomit. As it was, I just wanted to finish my eight-hour shift in one piece.
I always found it odd when customers seemed more offended when I didn’t wish them a “Merry Christmas” versus when I did, especially when everything at school seemed centered on neutrality. To add to the holiday nightmare at work, our store director made several employees dress up as Santa Claus or an elf, prancing around the store trying to get people to buy gift cards. If you didn’t want a gift card but needed to know where cumin was, Santa could help you in that area, too - but don’t worry because they won’t wish you a “Merry Christmas,” lest you be offended.
I understand the purpose of using the politically correct phrases, and granted there are probably many people who are insulted when wished a “Merry Christmas,” so maybe it’s better safe than sorry, but I mean, really - chill out. I somehow think America would live if Winter Break became Christmas Break again.
It is like this in other countries? In the Middle East, do the Christians and Jews resort to a neutral “Happy Holidays?” Is the Christian afraid they’ll wish the Jewish citizen a Merry Christmas while the Jew might wish the Christian a Happy Hanukkah? I have no idea, and while the Middle East is often stricken with religious conflict, I can’t help but feel it would be silly for one to get mad at the other for a trivial “Happy Hanukkah” wishing. Likewise, what is it like for the Muslims during this time?
Article comments
1 - Lisa Solod Warren
I think you don't need to worry about it, Sarah.
2 - Ruvy
Sarah,
Out where I live in Israel, Christmas is a non-event - no Chrismas carols, no Christmas sales, no Christmas trees. In fact, Christmas is barely celebrated in December - Orthodox Christians, who far outnumber Catholics and Protestants here, celebrate Chrisrman in January or so. The big deal here is Hanukkah, with its sufganyót (jelly donuts of a sort). And, to absolutely honest with you, I love it! I no longer have to live with someone else's holiday being shoved down my throat.
But, on the other hand, I do not feel the need to be politically correct, and I feel for you that you get stuck with stupid things like having to decide how to wish someone a Merry Christmas. In the States, it did not bother me if someone wished me a Merry Christmas.
But the constant droning on of Christmas songs and sales and trees and demands that I should care about someone else's holiday "season" did piss me off some. Putting powder on a pig's nose does not take away its stink, and "holiday season" is even more offensive than "Christmas season" because of its fundamental dishonesty. Blowing up Hanukkah to be more than it is - a minor holiday in the Jewish calendar - also is fundamentally dishonest.
So, Merry Christmas to you, Sarah - a bit early.
Blessings from the mountains of Liberated Samaria
Ruvy
3 - Ruvy
Oh, by the way, for you, Sarah.
This is the voice of modern Israel; not a Christmas carol, not exactly háva negíla; but we still do not lose hope. We cannot afford to.
4 - Victor Plenty
"Political correctness" cuts both ways on this issue, as with so many others. Partisans of "Merry Christmas" grow more and more militant each year.
I've personally witnessed a person respond to a perfectly friendly and innocent "Happy Holidays!" by saying "NO! Merry Christmas." in a tone that was not friendly at all. Now that's not really a very merry thing to do, wouldn't you think?
Ah, but thinking is in short supply on this issue. We could simply accept from each other whatever friendly season's greetings our neighbors feel most comfortable giving us. If someone tells me "Happy Hanukkah!" or "Merry Solstice!" or even, God forbid, "Happy Holidays!" I could take it as a kind gesture and respond with the same spirit, even though I'm not a Jew, or a neo-pagan, or a godless communist myself.
Instead we've allowed self-obsessed pundits to create a social climate where many a "Merry Christmas" now carries insulting undertones the phrase never had before. Now it often feels much like being slapped with a glove. Not really painful, but there is an unmistakable edge to the voice, a glint in the eye of the speaker. They're daring someone to take offense. They're barely able to conceal the hope that someone will take offense and give them yet another flimsy excuse to imagine themselves a persecuted minority.
Coming from the religious majority that is still by far the most powerful cultural and political force in the United States, there's nothing at all merry about that particular delusion.
So, what's the solution to this mess? There's no easy answer. Like the rest of the culture war nonsense, it's designed to be an irrationally emotional issue that will keep selling crappy books year in and year out.
Still, it couldn't hurt for everyone feeling upset about this issue to just calm down and try to be genuinely merry, with actual good will, and peace on Earth, etc., etc., etc.
5 - libby
I LOVE THIS POST.
Thank you thank you thank you thank you.
I will be linking it and giving you credit on my own blog; you said it much more eloquently than I ever could.